Here's the next chapter! Also, I have an announcement!
Through Life and Death now has a new upload schedule: the 1st and 16th of every month.
Replying to Reviews!
iamking - Thank you!
WhiteRosePlanter - Nope! No Titanic here! Just Whiterose!
Unnamed Stranger - Neptune is a sweet guy in this. Also, yes, this is a Modern Day AU (just with Remnant names), so all the famous singers/actresses existing today exist here.
Combine117 - I'm glad you like it!


Finally Free
[Ruby]
Date: Tuesday, September 13th

Niall Horan - Finally Free
Standing here on my own
Yeah, the first step's the hardest
When you're walking into the unknown
It's been dark, and it's been cold
Had my head in the clouds
Never knowing what lies down below

"Stay here," a voice whispered softly to her, "don't make a single sound, don't come out until I tell you it's safe, okay?"

Everything was dark, save for a sliver of light peeking through and providing her just enough space to be able to see from inside. The figure standing in front of her moved away and towards a darker area, eventually all she could hear was footsteps growing farther and farther away. A moment passed and a door creaked open, likely pushed open from the raging winds outside.

Ruby averted her eyes when a shadow appeared in her line of view, she quietly shifted away from the dim light and waited. She heard a dull outside the room and she glanced up, briefly wondering if a tree limb had fallen on the house again. When she looked up, everything flashed red and her world began to fall apart piece by piece until. . .

She was drowning. . .

She couldn't breathe. . .

She needed air, and desperately. . . Her first instinct was to open her mouth and scream.

Ruby's body jerked upright and a shriek escaped her throat, echoing around the small shack as she slowly regained her senses. She was panting, her heart was racing a mile a minute and she could barely breathe, she was practically heaving. . .

When her vision cleared and she could breathe again, she heard her sister fly to her feet beside her with her eyes screwed shut, but she took on a battle stance, "Wha- who- who's there?!" The blonde demanded as she blinked her lilac eyes open, immediately glancing down at the young brunette. Ruby could barely hear over the ringing in her ears and the thudding of her heart, but she managed to make it out: "Are you okay?"

Ruby drew in a deep breath and released it, lifting her head to meet her sister's eyes. It was then she realized that she was hugging her knees close to her chest, she lowered them quietly as Yang took a seat beside her on the floor, "Ruby?" Yang whispered softly, "Didja have the nightmare again?" Ruby could never remember what happened in the nightmare, all she could ever recall was the color red flashing all around her, and then falling. Her body and her mind remembered, it always did.

"Yeah," the brunette replied at last, "I'm fine, though. I'm sorry I woke you. . ." She could feel Blake's eyes watching her from her own bed, but she didn't bother to look at her. Ruby knew Blake was frustrated with her, she'd probably startled her awake with her screaming, especially since Blake had highly sensitive cat ears. Ruby heard the faunus grumble something and turn over, likely as an attempt to tune the sisters out.

Yang draped an arm around Ruby's shoulders, "Come on," she smiled reassuringly, "it don't look like you'll be getting back to sleep any time soon. What do you say we go for a walk?" Ruby smiled at the blonde as Yang stood to her feet, Ruby kicked her old blanket off as her sister offered her a hand and pulled her up to her feet. "Blake, we're heading out, okay?" Yang informed her girlfriend, who simply gave them a thumbs-up to acknowledge them.

Ruby ran a hand through her hair as her sister walked away to grab their jackets off of the old couch, tossing the black cloth to the young brunette as she slid her own brown jacket on. "Where are we going?" Ruby asked, fiddling with the keys in her pocket and watching Yang remove her helmet and a red wig from underneath the couch. She wiped the helmet off and offered it to Ruby before sliding her wig on. Yang just smiled at her and walked out the door after the brunette took the helmet, following closely behind the blonde.

"Anywhere and everywhere." Yang replied at last.


Yang had driven them up to the city and parked Bumblebee behind an abandoned building, she'd tossed an old tap she'd found over the motorcycle after placing the helmet back into the truck. The main clock tower read 2:45am, although it was late and many people had settled down for the night, the city was still bustling with activity.

"Have I ever mentioned that I hate the city?" Yang asked as they made their way down the street, they had no set destination, they were just walking to clear their minds. "It's so loud, crowded, and half the people here are obnoxious. Not to mention that they're rich and think they can do whatever they want. . ." The blonde muttered, scowling as a young man shouldered his way in between them and continued down the block.

Ruby tugged at the hem of her jacket, "Yes," she whispered, "almost everyday."

Yang frowned at her little sister, glancing down at her hands as the younger girl played with the edges of the jacket she wore, "Hey, Ruby," silver eyes met her contacted golden pair, "Why were you late gettin' home last night?"

Ruby bowed her head, the memories of the night before coming back and hitting her in the face. Women around her age came to her searching for attention they would never receive from their husbands, or if they were disgusted by their current partner, and Ruby provided them with what they wanted. They'd learned long ago that they were not to take control, and if they put their hands on her, she'd be out in a flash. She hadn't wanted to. . . But she needed money, she couldn't just say no them.

"I was just. . . Enjoying some me time." Ruby smiled. Hopefully soon, she wouldn't need to do this anymore.

Yang nodded carefully, "So. Do ya remember anything about the dream?" Ruby shook her head, "Oh, so the same as always." A nod was the response she was given. Yang drew in a deep breath and draped an arm around Ruby's shoulders again, offering a small, reassuring smile when she tried to lighten the mood. "Maybe we should put a lil' video camera in your head and record the dream! That way we know what it is!"

The brunette smirked, "You wanna put a spy camera in my head?"

"Sure, why not?"

"What if I don't let you?"

"Then I'll use my big sister senses to see what's goin' on in there." Yang chuckled, "Anyway, how did shopping with Penny go? I saw that you got some new clothes. What brought that up?" The blonde grinned when a pink blush started to creep its way up her sister's cheeks and the brunette averted her eyes, "Oooh, does Ruby have a crush? Who is it? What does he look like?" The smile Ruby was wearing fell almost immediately and Yang frowned, "Ruby?"

Ruby hesitated before responding, "She, actually. . ." The brunette met Yang's gaze again, "Her name is Weiss," a wide smile crossed the younger woman's lips, "she's so beautiful! Her eyes are blue and look like they were crafted from the most beautiful snowflakes in existence and her hair literally looks like snow and her voice sounds like an angel is speaking and-"

"Slow down there, little sister." Yang cut the shorter woman off, her voice hard and firm, "Did you say Weiss? As in, Weiss Schnee?"

"Uh, yeah, why?" Ruby asked cautiously, dread settling inside of her when something unreadable flickered through her sibling's eyes. Realization washed over the brunette and her heart clenched, "That's our mission Monday, ain't it. . .?" She whispered painfully, Yang just nodded. "I can't. . . I promised Penny that I would attend the party with her, I said I would meet Weiss there. I can't do that to her. . ."

Yang's face softened and she sat down on the nearest bench, Ruby followed her and took a seat beside her. "Ruby," the blonde whispered gently, "do you really wanna keep doing this?" Lilac eyes hidden behind golden contacts met deep pools of silver, both searching for an answer in the other's gaze.

Ruby was torn, she wanted to stay and help her sister and Blake, but she also knew that they didn't make enough money to be able to properly feed three people. If she escaped, then the other two would have an easier time surviving. Unlike her, they didn't have a way out of the system, they'd signed a contract and would be forced to work for the Boss until the deadline was reached. Their only chance of ever getting out of there was death, or working harder to pay off what they owed.

The other part of Ruby wanted to leave, to put this behind her and move forward in life. She had a chance to have a new beginning, nobody knew of her name or would ever recognize her, thanks to Yang. She could forget everything and pursue the life she'd always wanted to lead, she could get a real job and hopefully apply to college online.

Would she really be able to forget, though? Everything she'd learned in the past two years had been drilled into her, it would take more than simply departing from the system for her to forget. What if somebody approached her and her brain identified them as an enemy? What if-

"Ruby?" Ruby jerked her attention back to her sister, "If you want to leave, I can help you. I probably won't need to, though," Yang smirked, "the Boss would be overjoyed that you're leaving, as long as you don't expose him."

For a reason that Ruby couldn't even begin to understand, their Boss despised her and wanted her gone as soon as possible. If Yang wasn't protecting her, Ruby was positive the man would've killed her as soon as he had the chance. But, now that she was twenty, she was no longer under her sister's protection. . .

"Yeah," Ruby whispered, reaching a decision, "I mean, I can work on leaving. . . Maybe have a real job and an apartment under my name, and help you and Blake out whenever y'all need it."

"Alright," Yang smiled, reaching up to adjust her red wig and hide a few stray blonde hairs, "we'll inform Blake when we get home and tell the Boss later." The older woman drew her little sister in for a one-armed embrace, "I'm proud of you, and I'm sure, um, Tai and Summer would be as well."

"Really?" The brunette asked shyly, her heart clenched when her mother's name was mentioned, "You think so?" She'd never met her father, but Qrow had told plenty of stories about him when she was little that she felt like she did have some memories of him.

"I know," the blonde replied, "startin' tomorrow, you'll have a new life to lead, they would be absolutely thrilled."

"What about Uncle Qrow. . .?"

It'd taken her years to understand, but apparently her mother had been killed when Ruby was very young and her father legally could not have custody of her. As much as it'd hurt to find out, she understood why eventually. . . Ruby was the result of a one night stand, and due to a legal problem concerning custody of Yang, she couldn't go to her father and Qrow had adopted her without hesitation.

They stayed with him for nearly six years before Qrow moved to Atlas for something job related, he'd never told them what it was. A week after their arrival, they received word that he'd gone missing without a trace, leaving the two girls to survive on their own. Foster care soon found out that they were orphans and took them in, but after a few months there, they tried to separate them so they'd escaped and managed to stay hidden.

"Yeah, Qrow be proud, too. . . Especially of you." Yang stood, her voice and movement breaking Ruby out of her thoughts.

"What? No, Yang, he'd be proud of both of us. He's our uncle."

Yang cut her off, "That's not what I meant, Ruby. I meant that you're his, um," reluctance and hesitation flickered across Yang's face and she sighed, "I meant that you were always his favorite." Yang glanced up and down the street as Ruby got to her feet beside her. "Come on, let's go back."

Ruby had noticed her sister's hesitation, but chose not to acknowledge it. "Could we, uh," Yang looked over her shoulder, "get some food?" In truth, she just didn't want to go back, but she couldn't tell Yang that.

Yang blinked at her, "Ruby, it's three in the morning."

"I know," Ruby whispered quietly, "but isn't Simmer Down open twenty-four-seven?" Realization flickered through Yang's eyes and the older woman smirked. "What?" She frowned in confusion and the blonde chuckled, turning to face her.

"You mean the restaurant the Schnee family owns?"

"I- what- they own Simmer Down?!"

Yang smirked again, "Uh, yeah."

Humiliation washed over the young brunette and Ruby cast her silver eyes downwards, "I didn't know that," she whispered shamefully, "maybe that's why her name sounded so familiar." The woman turned away and headed down the street, "Can we just get some food?" Yang was by her side in an instant.

"Hey Ruby? What's your favorite color?"

"Red."

Yang smirked, "Are you sure it's not Weiss blue?" The blonde cackled and Ruby quickened her pace, "Hey! Hey, what flavor snow cone do you think she would be?"

Ruby groaned in sheer embarrassment "Why are you doing this?"

"Aw, Ruby, I thought you liked Weiss cream? Especially with lil' cherries on top."

"YANG!"

"Ruby! Shush!" The blonde loudly scolded, reaching up and adjusting her red wig, "I'm not Yang, I'm Irides right now. . ." She turned back to Ruby, now calm. "I'm sorry," Yang apologized with a small laugh, "it was just too perfect. My little sister has her first crush, and you expect me not to make jokes?" A blush rose to Ruby's cheeks and she shifted her eyes towards the ground, a tiny smile came to her lips, one she hoped Yang hadn't noticed. "Awww, you do have a crush! That's soooo cuuuute!"

Ruby coughed and steeled herself again, lifting her head and looking at her sister, "That's ridiculous," she forced out, trying to rid the image of the white-haired woman's smile, "I just met her, you can't develop a crush on somebody that fast."

Yang scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Who are you and what have you done with my little sister?"

Ruby raised a brow, "What do you mean?" She asked quietly.

The older woman chuckled and draped an arm around the shorter girl as they turned down the block, "You used to believe in 'love at first sight' from all of those books you read before we left home. Man, I remember when you were a child and pretending you were a knight in shining armor and saving your princess."

"I-I did not!" Ruby snapped in sheer embarrassment, "Love at first sight. . . It's not real." Her silver eyes glanced to the ground again, her heart grew heavy. "Besides, she's straight. She has a boyfriend."

Yang hummed, "How do you know it's her boyfriend? People used to think Mars and I were dating, but we were just good friends. Y'know, before he went crazy?"

Ruby smiled, "Yeah," she whispered with a hopeful glint in her eyes, "maybe he's just a friend. I'll ask next time I see her." Ruby felt her heart swell with affection, "Really, though, you should see her smile. It's the most purest thing in the world; it was like seeing an angel. . ." The brunette chuckled again, "She even sounded like one, I wonder if she sings?"

"You, my little sister," the blonde started and Ruby averted her eyes again, "are one of the gayest people I've ever met."

Ruby bit her lip, the voice at the back of her head reminded her of the women she 'assisted' and she shook her head. Weiss would never love her if she knew that. . . "I just hope I don't screw it all up," she whispered pitifully, "I really do want a new beginning. . . I'm sorry, but I'm tired of living like this." Ruby spun around to face her sister, walking backwards with her eyes fixed on Yang's. "If I had to hide my face like you, I would have never met Weiss. . ."

Yang chuckled, "I know, that's why I only included you in our missions when absolutely necessary. I wanted you to have a chance to escape with a clean record. . ." She made a thoughtful noise and tapped her chin, "Say, couldn't your new Schnee friend help you out?"

"I'm not going to take advantage of her money," Ruby growled in slight irritation, "I don't want her to think I'm just hanging around her because of her wealth. . ."

Her sister suddenly stopped and her head tilted back, "We're here, Ruby." Yang told her, Ruby looked up to see the white and yellow sign that said 'Simmer Down' in bold-like text. "Find a seat, I'll be right back. I need to fix my wig."

"Got it, want me to order for you if you're not by the time the waiter comes by?"

"Yeah!" Yang called back, using a trained accent so that nobody recognized her voice. Ruby chuckled and approached the counter, where a tall, broad man with black hair and a braided beard greeted her. When he asked how many, she replied with a quiet 'two' as her attention trailed towards a snowflake emblem flashing above her.

"Those Schnees want their symbol flashing everywhere," the man informed her gruffly, almost sounding annoyed, "I'm quite surprised they don't yet own all of Atlas."

Ruby furrowed her brows in confusion as the man grabbed two menus and gestured for her to follow him. "What's wrong with the Schnees?" She asked curiously, regretting asking the question when the man scoffed loudly. She just barely heard him mutter something about only having the job because of how much it pays before he turned to her, setting the menus down on a two-person table.

"They're a bunch of hypocrites! They only care about themselves, their money, and would run anybody out of business just to get more fame and money!" He crossed his arms, "Everybody from Atlas knows this, you must not be from here."

Ruby shook her head, "I'm from a small town off the coast of Vale," she replied honestly, "do you know if Weiss anything like them?" She feared the answer from the Atlesian man.

The man laughed darkly and Ruby quietly took her seat, stepping out of his way so that he could head back to the desk. He stopped at her side, "She's just like her father." The way he said it spoke volumes about his opinion of the white-haired woman, Ruby heard him whisper something under his breath as he walked away.

"What was that about?" Ruby's head whipped around to see Yang sitting across from her with her elbows propped up and her chin resting on her hands. "He didn't seem too happy."

Ruby sighed deeply and opened her menu, "I asked about the Schnee family," she glanced up at her sister, "do you know what Weiss' father is like?"

Yang hummed as she opened her own menu, skimming over the page before replying to Ruby. "All I'm going to say is that he's not a good man. . ." She gave Ruby a small smile, "Don't worry, I'm sure Weiss is nothing like her father."

"She was so nice to me," Ruby whispered in pure confusion, "but what if that's what he meant? What if she's nice to people before-"

Yang cut her off by popping her menu shut and looking up at her, "If she was sweet to you and you didn't get a bad vibe from her, she isn't a bad person, Ruby." She raised a brow and cut Ruby off before she could say anything else, "One of the first things we learned when training for our job was to learn how to manipulate somebody into turning a blind eye to you. So you would be able to tell whether or not she was toying with you, Ruby."

Ruby nodded and closed her own menu, she decided to change the subject. "So, we getting a number #10 with a side of rice?"

"Sounds good to me. Oh! Hey, Simmer Down has wifi! Maybe we could look up some apartments for you while we're here!" Yang exclaimed, pulling her phone out and quickly connecting to the restaurant's wifi, "Since it's 3:37am and there's barely anybody here, I imagine the internet wouldn't be too laggy." She informed Ruby, already typing in a search for apartment buildings in their area. "It'd probably be a good idea for you to look for a job, too."

Ruby rolled her eyes and withdrew her own phone, "I could just unlock the money Mom had stored for me in the bank if I can't get a job soon," she muttered in slight annoyance, "but yeah, I probably need a job so I could pay for the bills. . . Ugh, nobody told me adulting would be hard!"

"Oh you're looking for an apartment?"

The sisters looked up at the sight of a girl with short orange hair behind Ruby, leaning over her seat grinning at them. They exchanged a cautious glance when the woman beamed at them. Behind her was a young man with long black hair, hiding his face in his hands. "A really mean, bossy lady just got kicked out of the apartment across from us! So it's open now! Here," she turned around and ripped a sheet of paper off of what looked to be a notebook, jotting down the address, "here's the name of the apartment building! They allowed Ren and me to live there even though we were homeless! Even helped us find jobs! Well, uh, sorta."

Ruby blinked and took the paper from the woman, "Um, thank you. . .?" She slipped it in her pocket without looking at it, "Were you eavesdropping on us?"

"Our tables are so close to each other it's kind of hard not to eavesdrop." The woman smiled politely, "I'm Nora! You must be 'Ruby'."

Ruby nodded again, "Yeah, how did you know?" Nora gestured to Yang and Ruby sighed, "I see. . . So the apartment building owners helped you and your," she glanced to Ren, "your boyfriend find jobs?"

"Oh we're not together!" Nora blushed, "I mean, we're together, but we're not together-together. You know what I'm saying?" Ruby just bobbed her head once, "Anyway, yeah! They took us in and helped us find jobs! Of course, we had to move here to Atlas after the original place was shut down, but General Ironwood was more than happy to help us. We've lived there for nearly two years now!"

"What happened to the original owner?"

"He, uh," Nora looked back to Ren briefly, "he disappeared. . . That's why we're here, the residents of the apartment complex were offered a home here in Atlas. Since we didn't have anywhere to go, we came here."

Ruby pulled her paper out of her pocket and skimmed over the name of the apartment building, smiling when she recognized the name and thanking Nora quietly. Yang raised a brow at her and Ruby just waved the paper, "I think I just found a new home."


"The Beacon apartments?" Blake asked, setting the paper aside and turning back to Ruby and Yang, "Ruby, that's in Vale, and considering the girl who gave it to you claims they're residents of the apartment complex, I would say this is all some sort of scam."

Ruby shook her head, "I know it's in Vale," she pulled out her phone, clicking it on and presented it to the other woman, "the apartment complex itself was shut down after the owner went missing, so this 'General Ironwood' offered the remaining residents a home here in Atlas until further notice."

"Ruby, you don't think it's suspicious that the owner mysteriously vanished?" Yang questioned as she came to her girlfriend's side, "Plus, the girl was eavesdropping on our conversation and spoke up when we mentioned trying to find you a home! Red flags, hello?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, "It's like you said, Yang, I was trained to know the signs of somebody trying to manipulate you into believing them. She seemed honest, all I found weird about her was the fact she quite literally appeared out of nowhere." The brunette drew in a deep sigh and turned away from the two, "I'm going to head to apartments and see if I can put in an application. I did research while we were in the restaurant, it seems like it'll be a good place for me to go if I want to pick up my life." She whispered, approaching the door and placing a hand on the knob. "I need you to trust me on this."

Yang shook her head, "No, Ruby, you're not going to-"

"Yang," Blake interrupted, silencing the tall blonde, "you need to trust your sister. . . I'm skeptical too, but if she wants to see for herself, then let her. She's not a child anymore."

Yang looked to the young brunette and heaved a deep sigh, "I just- I remember when you used to rely on me, Ruby. . ." Ruby rolled her eyes, preparing herself for the upcoming story. Yang chuckled weakly, " As much as I tried to convince you to leave and start your own life, to head down a different path, you stayed right here with me because you thought I would need you. . ." Yang gave a small, proud smile. "Now, you're actually taking matters into your own hands. Ya don't need to depend on me anymore, it'll take some gettin' used to, I'm sorry. . . I guess I just feel like I have more to teach you."

Ruby nodded quietly, "I can understand that. . . But, like you said, you've been pushing me to start my own life. I probably found a home now, I can get a job as well." She pulled the door open, "An opportunity has presented itself to me, I have to seize it. I'll be back tonight, I promise."


Looks like Ruby is starting her own life now! And hmm... those women? Could they cause a problem?
Are the Beacon Apartments actually safe?
What did Yang mean? Ruby is Qrow's what?
Will Ruby get an apartment and get her life sorted out, or will her connection to Blake and Yang hold her back?